Raining On Prom Night
by BuzzCat
Summary: Ruby is walking home after a cancelled prom and Archie sees her. Hurt/comfort and romance and fluff ensue.


Ruby sighed as she trudged down the street. It was raining. On my prom night. Prom had been canceled. Ruby kicked at a soda can, _Who cancels prom? Bunch of fucking dumbasses, _she thought. But there was nothing to be done about it. There was nowhere else to hold it, since the plans had been for it to be outside. The gymnasium was under construction and there was nowhere else big enough to house the students. Ruby's heels scuffed the pavement as she walked down the street. Her dark red dress was soaked to look like dried blood, not to mention how her once-straight hair was now a frizzy mess. _What a prom night this has turned out to be, she thought._ The rain was calm but steady, no wind to truly ruin her evening. Still, Ruby had to stop and sit on the curb. Tears were prickling at her eyes, but she liked to pretend they weren't there.

She had wanted to badly to go to prom tonight. It had taken her almost a month after Peter died to convince herself she could do this. She could be strong. She would go on. But this, this was just a sign. The fates, destiny, whatever, was telling her that it was her fault. If she hadn't texted Peter just then, he wouldn't have looked away from the road and he'd still be here. Ruby swiped her hand beneath her nose and shivered. There would be no catharsis. She wrapped her arms around herself and buried her head in them, not even bothering to hide her sobs.

Ruby jumped when a hand touched her shoulder. She looked up to see Archie Hopper, a senior from her Algebra II class. He smiled tentatively at her and sat beside her,

"Are you alright?" His nose sounded a little stuffy. Ruby sniffled,

"I'm fine." She looked at his suit and said blankly, "You'll ruin that. The sidewalk's wet." She tried to brush some of the rain from his arm. Archie shrugged,

"Doesn't matter. You'll ruin your dress too." He said, nodding at the little red number. Ruby laughed,

"Doesn't matter. No one's going to see it." she said. Archie gently nudged her shoulder with his,

"I see it. You look beautiful." _Beautiful._ He said the word so kindly, so innocently. To Ruby, it was like an angel's blessing. Not sexy or hot; she looked _beautiful_. That was one word Ruby didn't know how to react to. She blushed and ducked her head,

"Thank you. You look…dashing yourself." She said shyly. Archie grinned,

"Thanks." They sat in silence for a moment until Ruby shivered. Archie quickly removed his jacket and wrapped it around her bare shoulders.

"Better?" he asked kindly. He didn't seem to notice that white became transparent very quickly. Ruby tried not to notice either as she nodded,

"Much. Thank you." She snuggled deeper into it, surprised to smell something wonderful on it. It smelled like…summer nights. Summer nights where the crickets sing and lovers cuddle in hammocks and… _Woah, Ruby,_ she thought. _Calm your brain. This is Archie. Sweet, innocent, genius Archie_. With effort, she dragged her nose out of the collar. She peeked shyly up at Archie with her nose just above the collar. He turned red as his hair and looked at his lap. Ruby tried not to follow his gaze. He was being so nice, and something about it made her want to tame her habitual flirtatious behavior. He was nice and sweet, two things she saw far too often. The last thing Ruby wanted to do was scare him off. Slowly, Ruby leaned over to rest her head on his soaked shoulder. Archie inched his arm around her shoulders, as if expecting to get slapped away at any moment. Ruby snuggled up a little closer, planning to use the cold as an excuse. Archie's head slowly came to rest on top of her head, ignoring her frizzy hair. They sat there for a time, each wrapped up in their own thoughts. At last, Ruby whispered,

"I needed this." She felt Archie nod against her head.

"I know."

"I need to get over Peter."

"You won't truly get over him." Said Archie. Ruby bit back her incredulity. Archie had lost both his parents at a young age. Truly, he probably knew the most about what she was going through. Ruby looked up, though she couldn't see his face.

"Really?"

"Really? It'll hurt for a while, but it gets better. Soon, it won't hurt when you think of him. He'll still be a part of you. He was your first everything, after all. You don't forget that." He said. Tears were falling all over again as Ruby tried to stop them but to no avail.

"Will I always miss him so much?" she said, her voice thick. Archie sighed,

"I don't know. I still miss my parents. But it won't hurt so much. It'll get better. The hole won't feel so jagged." He said. By now Ruby wasn't even trying to hide her tears. Archie heard her sobs and leaned back,

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry I didn't mean to—"

"You didn't do anything," said Ruby between sobs, tears still mixing with the rain, "You helped. Just," she took a shuddering breath, "just hold me. Please." Archie opened his arms and Ruby practically crawled into his lap. He wrapped his arms tight around her and she clung to his wet shirt. Mascara trailed down her face and undoubtedly stained his shirt, but Archie didn't say anything. He just hugged Ruby close to him and rocked her just a bit, whispering a steady stream of gentle nonsense in her ear. He hummed something soft and gentle that seemed to crawl into Ruby and fill her with warmth. She held fast to him as her tears slows and sobs turned to shaking breaths.

"What were you singing, just then?" she asked quietly.

"Hm? Oh, nothing." He squeezed Ruby closer and she smiled. He was humming for her. Archie shifted a bit, "You know, we could still have prom." He said. Ruby looked up at him mascara streaked down her face and eyeliner smudged beyond belief.

"How?" she asked. Archie pulled an iPod out of his pocket with a smile. He quickly pulled up the music section. In just a moment, a slow and sweet ballad started playing. He turned it up and slipped it in his shirt pocket. He slipped his hand under Ruby's knee and the other behind her back, picking her up as he stood. Before she could protest or draw closer, he gently set her back on her feet. He tentatively held up his left hand and extend his right to hold her waist. His touch was light, not holding her there unless Ruby wanted to be there. She stepped closer with a smile and lifted her hand to meet his. Slowly, they rocked back and forth, less dancing and more swaying. Ruby drew closer and laid her head on his chest, sighing happily. The rain had stopped, light snow starting to fall. Snow in the spring wasn't uncommon in Maine, but Ruby still thought it was perfect. Her eyes closed and warmth like hot chocolate filled her, her muscles relaxing and her mind unwinding. Archie held her close and kept her upright when her knees grew weak. He swooped her up like had before, hand on her back and beneath her knees. Ruby joined her hands behind his neck and held on as he carried her down the street. For being so skinny, he certainly was strong. He carried her all the way to the inn where the light was still on and Granny in the living room. By the time they got there, Ruby was asleep. She had drifted off with his scent in her nose and his heart thudding against her ear.

Archie quietly opened the door and walked in. Granny Lucas immediately stood and almost started shouting before she saw who it was carrying in her unconscious granddaughter. She didn't know much about Ruby's generation, but she knew instinctively that she and Ruby had nothing to fear from the young Archie Hopper. He whispered over Ruby's dozing head,

"Where should I put her?" Granny led him behind the desk to her and Ruby's living quarters. A turn down the hall and they were at Ruby's room. It was too dark to make out anything except vague shapes. Granny made her way through like she had the path memorized, helping Archie to the bed. Granny lifted away the quilt and Archie laid Ruby on top of the sheets, pulling the quilt back up to her chin and tucking it in around her. He was careful not to touch anywhere he shouldn't. As he looked down at Ruby sleeping so peacefully, his jacket still wrapped around her shoulders, he smiled. The past few months, she had always looked so haggard in school. Now she looked peaceful, happy. A small smile was spread across her lips and Archie had the sudden urge to kiss it. Mastering it, he compromised and pressed a chaste kiss to her brow.

"Good night, Ruby." He whispered.

"Good night Archie." Came the murmured response. He smiled and made his way out of the room and walked home. Granny Lucas watched him go and couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face. That boy was good for her Ruby and she knew he needed Ruby just as much as Ruby needed him. They'd take good care of each other, be good help to each other when demons from the past caught them. Granny knew she saw what no one else did: Two people, both broken in half. But in her years of life, Granny had learned that broken halves had a habit of making a whole.


End file.
